Vitamin G is the Supplement that will Bless Your Life

Rev recently shared an article from Prevention Magazine with me titled, The Healing Power of Gratitude by Jennifer King Lindley.

It begins…

“Call it Vitamin G: research shows that being grateful has a deep and lasting impact on your body. Learn how to put it to work for your health.

Lindley quotes Dr. David DeSteno:

“Making gratitude a daily practice is like taking a vitamin.

And Robert Emmons, Ph.D:

“Gratitude is affirming the goodness in one’s life and recognizing that its source lies outside the self.”

The bottom line is that gratitude is good for you! So good for you, in fact, that I believe if you wanted, you could almost make gratitude a priority for purely selfish reasons. Although, I guess that’s kind of counter-intuitive!

I also love the fact that you and I can’t live our lives with gratitude if we’re focused on ourselves. It just doesn’t work. I’ve proven to myself countless times that the fastest way to knock myself into a rotten mood is to spend all day thinking about ME and MY problems. Ooooh, it can get ugly.

I mention often, it’s the reason I started Counted My Blessings … I needed a place to hold myself accountable to the ways God is at work in my life and to see His amazing grace and goodness all around me even when I misplace my rose-colored glasses.

So, let’s stop for a minute and look at some of the specific ways Vitamin G (Gratitude) will bless us…

Vitamin G is the Supplement that will Bless Your Life

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will make you happier.

You and I get to choose. We can be grateful or we can be dissatisfied.

I know which one can tank my mood in a heartbeat.

“Feeling and expressing gratitude turns our mental focus to the positive, which compensates for our brains’ natural tendency to focus on threats, worries, and negative aspects of life.” ~Psychology Today

“Happiness cannot be traveled to, owned, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace and gratitude.” ~Denis Waitley

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will help you enjoy better relationships.

People like to be with happy grateful people. Think about it. With whom would rather spend an afternoon . . . someone who is happy and thankful or someone who grumbles and complains.

People work harder if their efforts are appreciated and bosses are more likely to encourage employees who acknowledge their positive leadership.

There’s an old saying that goes…

“If you want to get rid of your pastor… compliment him. He’ll work himself to death!”

I imagine if bosses gave more pats on the back and employees showed more appreciation and everyone complained less … productivity across the workforce would explode with successes.

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will make you more optimistic and hopeful.

People who are grateful have a better attitude about the future. They enjoy and appreciate what they have. Grateful people tend to worry less and look at life more positively.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will increase your desire to help others.

People who are thankful for what they have tend to notice those who are less fortunate and are more inclined to offer help.

“Thankfulness is the beginning of gratitude. Gratitude is the completion of thankfulness. Thankfulness may consist merely of words. Gratitude is shown in acts.” ~ Henri Frederic Amiel

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will make you more satisfied.

When you are thankful for what you have you end up being less concerned about what you don’t have.

“Gratitude turns what we have into enough, and more. It turns denial into acceptance, chaos into order, confusion into clarity…it makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” ~ Melody Beattie

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will make you more resilient.

Grateful people get over setbacks and disappointments more quickly than those who are unappreciative.

“Just an observation: it is impossible to be both grateful and depressed. Those with a grateful mindset tend to see the message in the mess. And even though life may knock them down, the grateful find reasons, if even small ones, to get up.” ~ Steve Maraboli

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will help you reject stress and anxiety.

Thankful people worry less. Celebrating what is going well in life will help you and me think less about things that could potentially go wrong.

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6–7

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will help you forgive others.

People who are thankful for and celebrate God’s gift of forgiveness, let go of the past and learn from it. They forgive others more easily and have the strength to move on as they anticipate the blessings they’ll enjoy tomorrow.

Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32

♥ A daily dose of Vitamin G will make you more attractive.

It is not happiness that makes you thankful. It is thankfulness that makes you happy!

Happy people smile more! And everyone looks better with a smile!

“I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.” ~ Gilbert C. Chesterton

So, what are you waiting for?

Grab your journal or download a gratitude journal app to your phone and start making a list of things for which you are grateful.

Pray over your list and praise God for the blessings He pours into your life.

Do something every day that shows your family you are grateful for them. It doesn’t have to be a big deal … just something that says, “I’m so glad God put you in my life!”

And then remember to smile!

Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! His faithful love endures forever. Psalm 106:1

What do you do to get your daily dose of Vitamin G?

Leave your prayer requests…

and stop to pray one or two of the requests listed.

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About Deb

Thank you so much for visiting CMB. I'm glad you're here. Please visit About Blessing Counting and Deb at the top of the page, and don't forget to leave a comment and subscribe before you go. God bless you! View all posts by Deb

Thank you so much, Vinia! I’m so glad they bless you! Your comment made me happy! I’m praying that God will continue to fill you with His peace and joy as you wait on His timing and that He is preparing you and your future husband for a beautifully blessed life together. <3

Deb, you know I’m a great believer in the power of having a Gratitude Attitude. This was just another great reminder of how nourishing and healing to both ourselves and others being grateful can be. Blessings, my friend!

Hi Deb! I love this article so much and couldn’t agree more. Gratitude chases away bitterness and changes our perspective. Whenever I find myself being overly critical or upset with my situation I start listing all the things I am grateful for and before I know it, I’m smiling and feeling joyful again. Thanks for the wonderful reminder. xo Eva

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About Me!

Hi! I'm so glad you're here! I'm Deb Wolf, a recovering “good little church girl” who has been transformed by grace into a joy-filled blessing counter crazy in love with Jesus. I can't wait to tell you about it...